The photo above suggests that Kulim MP Zulkifli Noordin and PKR vice-president Sivarasa Rasiah have kissed and made up, so to speak, after a recent public spat.

In his insistence that things have been resolved, Zulkifli tells Malaysians that “we want to educate the public that this is the new politics that we are bringing”.

What he wants Malaysians to know is that their spat is a living demonstration of a democratic process where party members do criticise one another and, in fact, they could agree to disagree.

So far so good.

But wary and weary Malaysians are concerned with certain Pakatan Rakyat politicians who espouse views that run counter to the very core beliefs or ideology of the respective PR partners, which leaves many Malaysians wondering why the hell do these politicians still align themselves to the political parties concerned.

To take a hypothetical case: a politician whose narrow political views and actions go against, say, the multiethnic ideology of her party may want to reconsider her membership in the party.

Equally serious, there are certain PR politicians who seem to have veered from the spirit of political understanding and cooperation between the coalition partners to the point of aggravating the ideological crack that already exists.

Indeed, ordinary Malaysians, with an eye on the next general election, may no longer tolerate such political misconduct. Needless to say, this should be instructive to the politicians concerned.